Nov 5, 2023; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs (14) walks off the field before the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports.
Remember when Stefon Diggs talked and tweeted his way off the Minnesota Vikings roster four years ago? He may not personally be the culprit this time, but his brother is coordinating similar efforts in 2023.
Diggs’ Buffalo Bills are 5-5 through 10 games, living in the AFC’s No. 10 playoff seed and owning a 33.2% probability of reaching the postseason, per ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI).
Operations are not thriving in Buffalo — they’re horribly mediocre, in fact — culminating in the termination of offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey on Tuesday after the Bills home loss to the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football.
Soon after the Bills loss to the Broncos, Diggs’ brother, Trevon Diggs, an All-Pro and Pro Bowl cornerback with the Dallas Cowboys, appeared to do his brother’s bidding by tweeting, “Man 14 Gotta get up outta there 😫😭.”
Here’s the full tweet:
On the other hand, Trevon Diggs’ Cowboys are 6-3 and nearly have a postseason berth wrapped up.
Diggs’ brother also tweeted, “Let’s not forget, he didn’t start going off till bro got there.” What does this mean? Well, foremost, it’s not wrong. He is Bills quarterback Josh Allen, and Allen had not turned the corner into an elite quarterback during his first two seasons — few do — but the moment Diggs stepped onto Buffalo’s depth chart, Allen instantly morphed into a Top 5 passer leaguewide. His completion percentage woes mostly vanished, and the Bills began reaching the playoffs each season.
Little brother Diggs is correct about the timing correlation of the Bills success and the Diggs trade to Buffalo.
It is unclear, however, if Diggs is solely responsible for Allen’s climb to stardom. Probably not. In any event, disgruntlement is nothing new to the Diggs experience. Diggs became disillusioned with the Vikings run-first offense in 2019, skipped practice after a loss to the Chicago Bears, was fined $200,000, and later demanded a trade from then-GM Rick Spielman. The former Vikings boss obliged after the 2019 season, shipping Diggs to the Bills for draft picks that would turn into Justin Jefferson and Camryn Bynum, among others.
Too, six months ago, Bills minicamp kicked off, and Diggs was nowhere to be found. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted, “Bills coach Sean McDermott told reporters that WR Stefon Diggs is not at mandatory minicamp and said he is ‘very concerned’ about it.”
It was later reported that Diggs was at the beginning of minicamp, left early under mysterious circumstances, and returned soon after, seemingly to squash the controversy. But something was fishy that June week.
Diggs ranks fifth in the NFL in receiving yards (868) after Week 10 and second in receiving touchdowns (7).
The Bills host the New York Jets this weekend and hope to trudge back over .500.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.